Telemark turns it up

Ever watch a telemark skier carve crazy loops in the snow while heading down a slope? Much of the appeal in the Scandinavian obsession is perfecting a difficult yet graceful turn that’s beautiful to watch -- when executed well -- and can be adapted from ski resorts to the backcountry.

While advances in equipment have made alpine skiing easier than ever, telemark skiing remains what it has been for more than a century, a rarefied endeavor with a high learning curve.

A close cousin of cross-country skiing, telemark introduced turns that helped Norwegians manage steep descents. Without heels affixed to skis, skiers could stride uphill and then schuss down with a series of deep knee bends.

For that reason, tele skiers have historically despised ski lifts, deriding them as the wimpy way up a mountain. But that notion of “earning your turns” has started to change.

More telemarkers are slapping money down to ride the chair alongside downhill skiers and snowboarders. Telemarkers have even been spotted on fat twin-tip tele skis jibbing in terrain parks. Most of the telemark skiers who rent gear from Mammoth Mountaineering in Mammoth Lakes go straight to the lifts at Mammoth Mountain, says the store’s gear buyer Dave Neal.

Snowsports Industries America reported an increase of 40% in the number of telemark skis, boots and bindings sold last winter compared with 2002-03, the first two years the trade organization has tracked telemark gear sales. In comparison, dollars spent on alpine gear dropped 3.9% for the same period. And ski resorts are responding to the free-heel revolution. Because of increased interest in learning to telemark, Mammoth Mountain now has five instructors who give private telemark instruction, says ski school director Craig Albright.

Albright says there are three types of people getting into telemarking: alpine skiers seeking more challenging moves; those who crave venturing beyond lift-served terrain; and the counterculture crowd who think it’s hip.

Ready to try tele? Before thinking about setting off into the backcountry, Neal recommends “getting good technique from a pro instructor.”

Telemark skis tend to be softer-flexing than alpine skis, allowing for quicker turns and less fatigue.

These days tele skis, especially fatter backcountry models, are more similar to shaped alpine skis than to the narrow nordic planks from which they evolved.

Budget-minded skiers are even retrofitting old alpine skis with telemark bindings, evidenced by a big uptick in telemark boot and binding sales compared to last winter, according to Snowsports Industries.

Telemark boot and ski rentals aren’t easy to come by in L.A. You can rent in Bishop or Mammoth Lakes, then take a lesson or two at the mountain. But be prepared for a challenge. As a popular bumper sticker says: “If it were easy, they’d call it snowboarding.”

Downhill skiers will feel a big difference when it comes to balance and shifting their weight on telemark skis. It’ll be a bit easier for those with good “fore and aft” balance, says Albright, because having only toes attached to the ski requires a more centered stance; beware of leaning too far forward.

And then there’s the turn. During an alpine turn, more weight is put on the downhill ski. Try that on tele skis and you’ll tumble head over heels. During a telemark turn, weight must be distributed evenly on each ski, says Neal.

Dropping the knee during a turn takes some getting used to. The series of lunges that characterize telemark turns appear to be hard on the knees, but they’re even tougher on thighs.

“It’s fabulous for quads and glutes,” Albright says.

If after a sufficient time you haven’t hurled your tele skis off a cornice and still want to go “off-piste,” it’s best to practice with a guide, especially if you’ve never ventured out of bounds at a ski resort.

The best way to begin is by taking a guided tour, such as those offered by Sierra Mountain Center in Bishop. Owner and guide Todd Vogel recommends Introduction to Touring, an overnight backcountry trip that doesn’t require a “super-high level of skills.”

Being able to link telemark turns isn’t necessary, he says, but “survival skiing” is. This includes getting down a slope using kick turns, sideslipping and a “good ability not to fall down.”

One option for downhillers who don’t want to learn a new turn but still want to access off-trail powder stashes is alpine touring, or randonee. This telemark/alpine hybrid allows a skier to pop a heel out of a binding for an uphill climb and then lock in and ski down alpine style.

Accomplished “pinners” -- telemarkers nicknamed for the sport’s three-pin bindings -- sometimes slingshot from certain ski resorts by taking advantage of chairlifts, then telemarking out of bounds down untracked runs back to the resort, says Albright.

Keep in mind that this should only be attempted at resorts with open boundary policies and only by skiers who possess good winter navigation and avalanche skills.

Getting into the backcountry is the essence of telemarking, says Neal. “You can climb a bowl and ski untracked powder. That’s the great draw.”

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CONTACTS

No schuss? No problem

Starting points for a successful telemark debut:

telemarktips.com: Includes Dr. Telemark’s gear picks and “Rockin’ the Freeheel World” stickers.

Mammoth Mountaineering: Sponsors annual Telebration fest at Mammoth Mountain; rentals and demos; (760) 934-4191

Kittredge Sports, Mammoth Lakes: Rentals; (760) 934-7566

Wilson’s Eastside Sports, Bishop: Rentals; (760) 873-7520

Sierra Mountain Center, Bishop: Guide service, ski tours; (760) 873-8526

Alpine Skills International, Truckee: Telemark and randonee instruction; (530) 582-9170